UN Secretary asks Coalition leader to confirm attending Peace Conference ASAP

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has sent Syrian main opposition group, National Coalition an invitation to attend the international conference on Syria which will be held in Montreux, west Switzerland on 22 January.

Zaman Alwasl has obtaind a copy of the invitation which was received by Dr Najib Ghadbian, Special Representative of the Syrian Coalition to the United Nations.

Mr. Ban Ki-moon asked Mr. Ahmad Jarba, NC leader to confirm the attendance of his delegation very soon, assuring that ‘Attendance’ means commitment the aims of the conference of full implementation of the Geneva communiqué, adopted after the first international meeting on the issue on 30 June 2012, which called for the creation of a transitional government that would lead to the holding of elections.

Meanwhile, Preparations for the long-sought international conference on Syria are moving ahead, with the United Nations reaching out to the more than 30 participating Member States and with a call on the Syrian opposition to name members of its delegations.

41 members of key opposition group National Coalition withdrew after disputes over participation in Geneva II, NC member told Zaman Alwasl.

Dr. Khaled Khoja, NC representative in Turkey, said to Zaman Alwasl that the resignation was a protest against the maladministration of the Coalition top leaders regarding the revolution core issues.

Khoja pointed out that a new opposition alliance to be formed soon including the resigned members.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been sending invitations to the list of invitees determined at the 20 December Trilateral meeting between Russia, the United States and the Joint Special Representative of the UN and the League of Arab States for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi.

The conference will also include the three other permanent members of the Security Council - China, France and the United Kingdom, joining Russia and the US - as well as representatives of the League of Arab States, the European Union, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and 26 other countries, Mr. Brahimi announced last month.

“The Secretary-General is in favour of inviting Iran, but discussions between the initiating States have not produced final results yet,” Mr. Ban’s spokesperson today said.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are to meet on 13 January, and “we very much hope they will reach agreement on Iran’s participation,” said Mr. Ban, adding that the active support of regional powers is “critical”.

The goal of the conference is to achieve a political solution to the conflict through a comprehensive agreement between the Syrian Government and the opposition for the full implementation of the Geneva communiqué, adopted after the first international meeting on the issue on 30 June 2012, which called for the creation of a transitional government that would lead to the holding of elections.

Mr. Ban said in a statement Monday that the conference is a “unique opportunity” for ending the violence and ensuring that peace can be restored in a way that fully meets Syrians’ aspirations. Over 100,000 people have been killed and 8 million driven from their homes, 2 million of them seeking refuge in neighbouring countries, since the conflict first erupted in March 2011.